Joe Musgrove Brings Celebratory Tradition with Padres Teammates Into 2023 Season

Joe Musgrove has emerged as one of the most important players on the San Diego Padres both on and off the field for some time now. He joined the Friars back in 2021 after a trade with his former squad in the Pittsburgh Pirates and he now headlines San Diego's starting pitching staff with Yu Darvish.

However, we have yet to see Musgrove take the pitching mound in 2023. We can thank a kettle ball for that as the 30-year-old was going through Spring Training workouts and dropped it on his foot but he's set to return this month.

His injury has not stopped him from fully supporting his guys though. Padres fans may remember Musgrove famously started bringing a Polaroid camera with him into their dugout and every time a big play happened, he would take a picture of him and his teammates celebrating.

Joe Musgrove bought a Polaroid camera, started a unique dugout celebration and sprouted a massive mural. Some day it’ll make for a good coffee-table book — but it isn’t finished.

The Padres’ season, told through their favorite photos: https://t.co/nIPBGOzNpi pic.twitter.com/oiNQ8kPPli
— Alden González (@Alden_Gonzalez) October 21, 2022

Well, guess what? Musgrove's recovery program has allowed him to have more time watching the rest of his squad play and he has once again kept his tradition.

He has also captured some great moments of their 2023 season so far in the first slew of games such as Juan Soto's first home run and David Dahl's clutch bomb against the Diamondbacks.

There's this great moment after David Dahl’s HR where Dahl is so excited and so new to the Padres that he doesn't pose long enough for the Polaroid and Musgrove let’s him know that they have to run it back for a better pic 😂 pic.twitter.com/FrfUcsAzFa
— Justin Jett (@JustinJett_) April 4, 2023

Soto and friends mug it up for the polaroid manned by Musgrove, after Juan’s 1st HR of season. pic.twitter.com/OBm8WhGHiu
— Bob Scanlan (@heyscan) April 4, 2023

It is great to see Musgrove keeping a high spirit even though he can't help them on the field right now. A great leader always finds a way to contribute in any way he can.

The last time we saw Musgrove in 2022, he was named an All-Star and pitched a 2.93 ERA with 184 strikeouts. The Friars haven't exactly been elite at the mound to start the year so he will make a big difference.